Taming the Evil Saintess

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“How is the plan progressing?”

“…It is proceeding steadily.”

Originally, the highest level of the Holy See was a very bright place, meaning the light bestowed by the divine.

However, there was not a hint of sanctity to be found in this highest level, where Hell Duke Derabilice and Pope Yudor Meredein were having a private meeting.

After making the highest level his office, Derabilice filled the space with items according to his own taste.

All of them were grotesque objects, skull-shaped goblets, and his own statue.

Pope Yudor was quite uncomfortable with the fact that what should have been the most sacred place was littered with symbols of the Demon King, but he consoled himself with the thought that it was for a greater purpose.

“Remember what I promised.”

“Of course. You can trust me, even if you can’t trust other subordinates of the Demon King’s army.”

Hell Duke Derabilice. His name wasn’t given for nothing. He nodded while holding wine in his mouth.

“No matter what anyone says, I will keep my end of the bargain no matter what. Knowing that, you tried to make contact with me, didn’t you?”

“…Hmm.”

As Yudor fell into silence, Derabilice set his goblet down and walked to the window.

“As agreed, I will leave this cathedral as humanity’s final sanctuary.”

There wasn’t any great reason for Pope Yudor to ask the Hell Duke for a deal.

It was simply that the Holy See, including the cathedral, had been attempting to assassinate the Hero and was currently under the continent’s radar. If things continued like this, even after the Hero defeated the Demon King, the cathedral’s prestige would undoubtedly be at rock bottom.

Yudor couldn’t bear to see such a sight.

Even if it meant becoming known as a betrayer of humanity, even if he had to rely on the Demon King, he wanted to stand above the remaining humanity. And the Hell Duke understood Yudor’s desires completely.

That’s how mutual interests align.

“Thank you.”

“Save your thanks for after it’s all over. The plan is proceeding without a hitch, but it seems the voices of dissent within the cathedral are growing.”

“If you mean the Archbishop Belwin and his faction, I’ve imprisoned them all. They should remain quiet from now on.”

“…Well, if you say so, then that’s how it is.”

Derabilice sighed and looked down at the cathedral’s view. The statues depicting the gods, including the divine messenger, adorned this divine city, making it perfectly compatible with Derabilice’s sadistic tastes.

Enjoyable to the point of happiness.

However.

“Have you heard that the Hero’s party has returned to the Empire?”

“I have.”

“And the news that the Order of the Saint plans to storm the cathedral?”

“I have heard that too.”

“Is it acceptable if we kill them all? If we do, there will be no turning back.”

The Hell Duke asked for confirmation, but Yudor closed his eyes and nodded.

“For the sake of my aspiration, I believe some shedding of blood is unavoidable.”

“Heh.”

The Hell Duke let out a laugh. His attempt to polish over such trivial ambitions was far too petty for a state leader.

“Humans are indeed amusing.”

It was an honest impression.

—

“Loud as hell.”

I swung my holy sword horizontally, and the skeleton soldier was split in half, dying a second time.

No, given it was already dead, should I say it died twice?

[Clank]

Of course, it wasn’t really dying twice.

“…Leader, these bastards.”

“Right. They won’t die.”

The shattered and scattered bones soon gathered at one spot, forming a new skeleton. The merging of different skeletal structures resulted in a truly grotesque figure.

The skeletons wouldn’t die no matter how many times you killed them. Instead, they came back even stronger as a new skeleton, and those composed of multiple skulls were particularly troublesome.

Swish!

Even though I swung my sword, the sensation in my hand was never heavy.

It felt like slicing through light air.

“…Tch.”

As expected, the skeletons once again formed a massive shape. The more you cut them, the larger they grew.

The only way to deal with these undying skeleton soldiers was to either unleash sword energy to obliterate them without leaving a trace or incinerate them through fire.

However, the former wasn’t efficient in terms of mana. I certainly didn’t have the luxury to shatter all these skeletons one by one.

As for the latter…

“Ugh, this is so annoying. Should I just incinerate them with Inferno?”

“Emily, stop. Do you plan to suffocate everyone here?”

“Ugh!”

Emily stomped her feet in anger.

But what could we do?

Using destructive fire magic in this confined space would undoubtedly result in a complete massacre.

[Clank!]

“Ugh!”

The skeleton soldier’s scythe swooped in sharply.

I deflected it with my gauntlet and thrust my holy sword into its mouth.

Even with its head pierced, it swung its weapon as if nothing happened.

“Seriously, this is ridiculous.”

In the end, we were left trying to beat these things down.

Though there was indeed a last resort.

Skeletons. They were fundamentally unholy beings. As indicated in the holy war, a strong sacred power-infused attack could eliminate them.

However, that approach wasn’t currently feasible.

“Ophelia, are you okay?”

“Ugh, uh-huh.”

Ophelia trembled as she clung tightly to me the moment she saw the skeletons.

Could it be because of the fear from her childhood? She seemed to be losing her composure, unable even to wield the branch of the World Tree.

She bit her lip until it bled, and with trembling hands, she picked up the branch of the World Tree.

“I’m s-sorry. Because of me… I’ll do something about it.”

“No, it’s okay.”

There’s no need to push yourself.

I gently patted Ophelia’s head and made a decision.

Thinking back, we had this happen frequently during our time with the Black Eagle Mercenary. So often that it felt like it was every day. Waves of monsters, exhausted and wounded mercenaries, an utterly dire situation.

In such cases, we had only one solution to resort to.

“You all know what to do, right?”

“Break through?”

“Exactly.”

I signaled to the mercenaries with just my eyes.

We couldn’t retreat here. While climbing the narrow staircase, someone would surely fall to the skeleton soldiers.

So we would break through. The mercenaries armed with heavy weapons would take the lead, clearing the path, and we would dash through at full speed.
We’d think about the aftermath later.

Laila readied a massive axe on her shoulder, and other members of the mercenary group, including Barton and Georg, formed a wedge formation. Azar, seeming to anticipate my thoughts, raised his shield and prepared to activate his mark.

But before we charged in, something unexpected happened.

Baaam!

A familiar light appeared.

“Leader, what’s that?”

“This is…”

A golden stream of light poured down from the opposite side, behind the skeletons.

Simultaneously, the skeletons began to dissolve. Just like how vampires met the sun, the melting skeletons could not resurrect again.

“It’s sacred power.”

This was sacred power. It couldn’t be possible otherwise.

So that meant…

“Reinforcements?”

Someone exclaimed.

The cathedral had already fallen into the hands of Hell Duke Derabilice.

So who on earth would come to our aid?

The answer became clear in an instant.

Amidst the fallen skeletons appeared a familiar face.

Shortly cropped hair, a middle-aged man with a sharp expression.

“…Dick?”

“I’ve told you countless times. My name is Dictus.”

Ophelia spoke as the Cathedral Knight Rowan Dictus stood across from us with a wry smile, bowing his head.

“It’s been a while, Saint Lady. And… Sir Elliot too.”

“Why are you here…?”

Rowan Dictus was a Cathedral Knight.

In other words, he belonged to the Pope’s direct order.

If he raised his sword against us, there was no reason for him to help us like this.

Indeed, the last time I encountered him was when I barged into the Pope’s lodging during the continental conference. After all, I had clashed blades directly with Yurede.

“I understand your caution.”

Perhaps sensing our mistrust, Rowan sheathed his sword, raising both hands to indicate he meant no harm.

“I sincerely apologize for the mistakes of the past. I accept the blame for failing to recognize the Hero and persecuting the Saint Lady.”

“…”

“However, given the current dire situation, let’s discuss that later.”

Rowan’s face hardened as he looked up towards the ceiling, that is, towards the cathedral.

“There’s no time for detailed explanations. However, I must say that not all of us accept the atrocities committed by the current Holy See.”

In other words, Rowan was part of a faction dissatisfied with the alliance with the Demon King’s army.

Yurede had mentioned the same. Not everyone supported the Pope’s decisions.

If that were the case…

“Did Archbishop Belwin send you?”

“Half right, half wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“As of now, Archbishop Belwin is imprisoned beneath the Holy See.”

“What?!”

Ophelia gasped in surprise.

Rowan nodded with an expression of indignation.

“Archbishop Belwin was imprisoned by the Inquisition Bureau last night for opposing the Pope. Just before he was detained, he entrusted this to me.”

Rowan pulled out a piece of a map from his possession.

“Hey, that’s….”

Ophelia’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the map, and I pulled out the map I received from Yurede.

“Originally, the two maps formed one single map.”

“It has tracking abilities as well?”

“Yes. I used this map to locate and come find you, Hero.”

That scheming Inquisition Officer had prepared all this in advance.

I sighed and shook my head.

Whatever the circumstances, it meant that factions rising against the Pope also existed within the cathedral. Having reinforcements was a good thing.

“Then we head straight to the Holy See?”

“That’s right. However, a necromancer has been monitoring us somewhere in the catacombs.”

“Then let’s deal with that bastard and rescue Archbishop Belwin.”

I told Rowan as I infused sword energy into my holy sword.

Archbishop Belwin. We’ve had a long relationship.

And from what I’ve heard, he was like a true father to Ophelia.

“Elliot, let’s go.”

The Ophelia who was previously terrified of skeletons was nowhere to be found; now, the branch of the World Tree she held crackled with brilliant sacred power.

As expected, Ophelia was Ophelia.